Surat, an emerging city in the state of Gujarat, is the hub of India’s textile industry. Shilp Arts is among the few companies in the city which is capable of capturing the richness, design, texture and embroidery of fabrics in the printed brochures. The company focuses on printing brochures and other colaterals with fine image details that offer close resemblance to the actual product. Speaking to us, Sagar Nanavati, director of Shilp Arts, said that prepress is critical in getting distinguished print results. “The kind of print ready files, we get, the print quality depends upon it. If we are getting the right files, we could produce a high-quality print. In textile catalogs, our primary focus is to grab the eyeballs of consumers towards the printed fabric in the catalogs. The print quality is also dependent upon the photography and editing of photographs which is entirely handled by branding agencies,” he said.
The textile catalogs developed at the company comprise of high-quality graphics print and are decorated with foils on the book cover`s cloth or printed using the existing four color Heidelberg SM-74 press, thus making the catalog an eye-catching product for their clients. When creating any piece of print marketing, the tactile experience is critical. “The book cover is covered with 170 gsm Satin paper, that seems to be a paper but it is non-tearable. Printing on such paper is risky, as it can easily tear the blankets in printing units. Every such embellishment involves a cost, but right now their clients are cutting down the cost. Thus, the demand for such job has reduced over the period,” says Nanavati.
Paper and finish play a crucial role in brochure printing. The paper chosen for printing the brochure can subliminally impact the brand image; so it’s important to make the right decisions. Shilp Art mainly uses 130 to 270 gsm Mont Blanc paper for high-quality brochure jobs. Apart from that, special effects including drip off UV effect and laser cut on book cover adds value to the catalogs.
Over a period, many printing jobs have shifted from Mumbai to Gujarat. It seems printers are trying every possible way to produce value-added products for their clients. Speaking about the recent installation of RMGT press, Nanavati says, “The newly installed RMGT 920 press is a four color unit with a coater that can accomodate a maximum sheet size of 25 x 36 inches. Secondly, Provin Technos provides prompt service to their customers. Hence, we went ahead with RMGT press. Apart from that, the company recently installed a Konica Minolta 1100 digital press and the maximum quantity produced, so far, is 200 to 250 books. The production unit is equipped with the complete in-house facility of prepress and post press to meet the needs of both packaging and commercial jobs.
